Fairytale
by NanbeiNoHana
Summary: Will you give me your eldest daughter? If you will, I'll make you as rich as you are now poor. And your daughter shall live as a princess. [NejiSaku, ONESHOT]


**A/N:** Yay, another story based on an already existing one! I'm so creative, huh? Anyway, this one is based on a Norwegian tale. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own anything…

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"Ojii-san! Ojii-san!" three little kids were jumping around an old man.

"What do you want, kids?" the old man said with his kind voice.

"Tell us the story of the girl and the wolf!"

"Again? I told you that story last week…"

"Pleeeeeeeease?" his three grandchildren looked at him with puppy eyes. He laughed and patted each one's head.

"Ok, I'll tell you. This story happened a long time ago…"

ooo

Once upon a time there was a poor peasant who had so many kids that he did not have enough of either food or clothing to give them. Pretty kids they all were, but the prettiest was the eldest daughter, who was so lovely there was no end to her loveliness. She had long pink locks and jade eyes. Her name was Sakura and she was 20 years old.

One day – it was on a Thursday evening late in the fall – the weather was wild and rough outside, and it was cruelly dark. The rain was falling and the wind blowing, until the walls of their cottage shook. They were all sitting around the fire trying to keep each other warm. Most of the people were complaining about being so poor and cold, but Sakura was quiet, grateful for having a ceiling above her head and a beautiful and big family. Suddenly something knocked three times on the window. The father went out to see what the matter was. Outside, there was a great big white wolf.

"Good evening to you" said the white wolf, bowing his head.

"The same to you" said the man, bowing too. "What can I do for you?"

"Will you give me your eldest daughter? If you will, I'll make you as rich as you are now poor. And your daughter shall live as a princess" said the wolf.

Well, the man wouldn't mind to be so rich, but still he thought he should have a bit of a talk with his daughter first. So, he went in and told them how there was a great white wolf waiting outside, who had given his word to make them so rich if he could only have the eldest daughter.

Sakura said "No!" without even thinking. No one could get her to say anything else, so the man went out and made a deal with the white wolf. He should come again the next Thursday evening and get an answer. Meantime he talked to his daughter, and kept on telling her of all the riches they would get, and how well off she herself would be. At last she agreed to it, so she washed and mended her rags, and made herself as well-dressed as she could. Soon she was ready for the trip, for she didn't have much to take along.

The next Thursday evening came the white wolf to fetch her. She got on his back with her bundle, and off they went. After they had gone a good way, the white wolf said, "Are you afraid?"

No, she wasn't.

"Just hold tight to my shaggy coat, and there's nothing to be afraid of" she nodded and did as the wolf told her.

They rode a long, long way, until they came to a large steep cliff. The white wolf knocked on it. A door opened, and they came into a castle, where there were many rooms all lit up; rooms gleaming with silver and gold. Further, there was a table set there, and it was all as grand as grand could be. Then the white wolf gave her a silver bell. When she wanted anything, he said, she only had to ring it, and she would get it at once.

Well, after Sakura had eaten, and it became evening, she felt sleepy from her journey, and thought she would like to go to bed, so she rang the bell. She had barely rung it before she found herself in a room, where there was a bed made as fair and white as anyone would wish to sleep in, with silken pillows and curtains, and gold fringe. All that was in the room was gold or silver. She thought it was a bit too much; after all, she was used to simple things and neutral colors. But the room looked nice anyway. After she had gone to bed, and put out the light, a man came and laid himself alongside her. It was the white wolf, who cast off his pelt at night; but she never saw him, for he always came after she had put out the light. Before the day dawned he was up and off again. Things went on happily for a while, but at last she became quiet and sad. She was alone all day long, and she became very homesick to see her father and mother and brothers and sisters. So one day, when the white wolf asked what was wrong with her, she said it was so lonely there, and how she longed to go home to see her family and that was why she was so sad, because she couldn't get to them.

"Well," said the wolf, "we can go visit them, but you must promise me not to talk alone with your mother, but only when the others are around to hear. She will want to take you by the hand and lead you into a room to talk alone with her. But you must not do that, or else you'll bring bad luck on both of us."

"I promise!" she told him, very happy because she would get to see her family.

So one Sunday the white wolf came and said they could now set off to see her family. Off they went, she sitting on his back; and they went far and long. At last they came to a grand house. Her bothers and sisters were outside running about and playing. Everything was so pretty, it was a joy to see.

"This is where your father and mother live now" said the white wolf. "Now don't forget what I told you, else you'll make us both unhappy."

No, heaven forbid, she'd not forget. When they reached the house, the white wolf turned around and left her.

Sakura went in to see her father and mother, and there was such joy, that there was no end to it. None of them could thank her enough for all she had done for them. They now had everything they could wish for, as good as good could be. Then they wanted to know how _she_ was.

Well, she said, it was very good to live where she did; she had all she wished. She kept on saying how wonderful the castle was, how tasty the food was, but she didn't tell any of them the whole story. She hid the part when the wolf would sleep beside her at night. That afternoon, after they had eaten dinner, everything happened as the white wolf had said it would. Her mother wanted to talk with her alone in her bedroom; but she remembered what the white wolf had said, and wouldn't go with her.

"What we have to talk about we can talk about any time" the girl said, and put her mother off. But somehow or other, her mother got to her at last, and she had to tell her the whole story. She told her, how every night, after she had gone to bed, a man came and lay down beside her as soon as she had put out the light, and how she never saw him, because he was always up and away before the morning dawned; and how she was terribly sad, for she wanted so much to see him, and how she was by herself all day long, and how dreary, and lonesome it was.

"Oh dear, it may well be an Oto-nin you are sleeping with!" The Oto-nins were terrible creatures who kidnapped children for unknown reasons, and destroyed entire villages just for the kicks. Sakura widened her eyes; could that gentle wolf be an Oto-nin? "But now I'll give you some good advice how to see him. I'll give you a candle stub, which you can carry home in your bosom; just light it while he is asleep, but be careful not to drop any tallow on him."

Yes, she took the candle, and hid it in her bosom, and that evening the white wolf came and took her away.

But when they had gone a piece, the white bear asked if all hadn't happened as he had said.

She couldn't deny that it had.

"Take care, if you have listened to your mother's advice, you will bring bad luck on us both, and it will be finished with the two of us."

No, by no means!

So when she reached home, and had gone to bed, it was the same as before. A man came and lay down beside her; but in the middle of the night, when she heard that he was fast asleep, she got up and lit the candle. She let the light shine on him, and saw that he was the most handsome prince one ever set eyes on. He had creamy skin and long coffee brown hair. She fell so deeply in love with him, that she thought she couldn't live if she didn't give him a kiss at once. And so she did, but as she kissed him she let three drops of hot tallow drip onto his shirt, and he woke up.

"What have you done?" he cried; she noticed he had white eyes, but they were deeply in pain. "Now you have made us both unlucky… If you had held out only this one year, I would have been free! I have a stepfather who has bewitched me, so that I am a white wolf by day and a man by night. But now all ties are broken between us. Now I must leave you for him. He lives in a castle east of the sun and west of the moon, and there, too, is a princess, one with an obnoxious voice, and now I will have to marry her."

She cried and grieved, but there was no help for it; he had to go.

Then she asked if she could go with him.

No, she could not.

"Tell me the way, then, so I can look for you; surely I may do that."

Yes, she could do that, but there was no way leading to the place. It lay east of the sun and west of the moon, and she'd never find her way there.

The next morning, when she woke up, both the prince and the castle were gone, and she was lying on a little green patch, in the midst of the thick, dark forest, and by her side lay the same bundle of rags she had brought with her from her old home.

When she had rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and cried until she was tired, she set out on her way, and walked many, many days, until she came to a high cliff. An old woman sat under it, and played with a golden kunai, which she tossed about. The girl asked her if she knew the way to the prince, who lived with his stepfather in the castle east of the sun and west of the moon, and who was to marry the princess with an obnoxious voice.

"How did you come to know about him?" asked the old woman. "Maybe you are the girl who should have had him?"

Sakura nodded, lowering her head. She missed him deeply.

"So, so; it's you, is it?" said the old woman. "Well, all I know about him is that he lives in the castle east of the sun and west of the moon, and that you'll get there too late or never; but still you may borrow my horse, and you can ride him to my next neighbor. Maybe she'll be able to tell you; and when you get there just give the horse a switch under the left ear, and beg him to be off home. And you can take this golden kunai along with you."

"Thank you so much, obaa-san!" her jade eyes were glowing with hope.

So she got on the horse, and rode a long, long time, until she came to another cliff, under which sat another old woman, with a golden shuriken. The girl asked her if she knew the way to the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon, and she answered, like the first old woman, that she knew nothing about it, except that it was east of the sun and west of the moon.

"And you'll get there too late or never; but you can borrow my horse to my next neighbor; maybe she'll tell you all about it; and when you get there, just switch the horse under the left ear, and beg him to be off for home."

'This woman is very alike to the woman before' Sakura thought, but said nothing.

This old woman gave her the golden shuriken; she might find some use for it, she said. So the girl got up on the horse, and again rode a long, long way. At last she came to another great cliff, under which sat another old woman, playing with a golden senbon set. She asked her, as well, if she knew the way to the prince, and where the castle was that lay east of the sun and west of the moon. But it was the same thing over again.

"Perhaps you are the one who should have had the prince?" said the old woman.

"Yes, that's me" she replied. How did all those women know about her anyway?

But she didn't know the way any better than the other two. She knew it was east of the sun and west of the moon, but that was all.

"And you'll get there too late or never; but I'll lend you my horse, and then I think you'd best ride to Naruto, the east ninja, and ask him; maybe he knows his way around those parts, and can take you there. When you get to him, just give the horse a switch under the left ear, and he'll trot home by himself."

She too gave her the golden senbon set. "Maybe you'll find a use for it" said the old woman.

Sakura rode many weary days, before she got to the east ninja's house. Finally she did reach it, and she asked the east ninja if he could tell her the way to the prince who lived east of the sun and west of the moon. Yes, the east ninja had often heard tell of it, the prince and the castle, but he didn't know the way there, for he had never gone so far.

"But, if you want, I'll go with you to my friend Iruka, the west ninja. Maybe he knows, for he's much stronger. If you will just get on my back I'll carry you there."

Yes, she got on his back, and off they went in a rush.

When they arrived at the west ninja's house, the east ninja said the girl he had brought was the one who was supposed to have had the prince who lived in the castle east of the sun and west of the moon. She had set out to find him, and he had brought her here, and would be glad to know if the west ninja knew how to get to the castle.

"No" said the west ninja, "I've never gone so far; but if you want, I'll go with you to our friend Kakashi, the south ninja, for he's much stronger than either of us, and he has flown far and wide. Maybe he'll tell you. Get on my back, and I'll carry you to him."

She got on his back, and so they traveled to the south ninja, and I think it didn't take long at all.

When they got there, the west ninja asked him if he could tell her the way to the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon, for she was the one who was supposed to have had the prince who lived there.

"Is that so?" said the south ninja. "Is she the one? Well, I have visited a lot of places in my time, but I have not yet gone there. If you want, I'll take you to my friend Tsunade, the north ninja; she is the oldest and strongest of us all, and if she doesn't know where it is, you'll never find anyone in the world to tell you. Get on my back, and I'll carry you there."

Doing as she was told, Sakura got on his back, and away he left his house at a good clip. They were not long underway. When they reached the north ninja's house she was so wild and cross, that she shattered the earth from a long way off. "Blast you both, what do you want?" she roared at them from afar, so that it struck them with an icy shiver.

"Well," said the south ninja, "you don't need to bluster so, for here I am, your friend Kakashi, the south ninja, and here is the girl who was supposed to have had the prince who lives in the castle that lies east of the sun and west of the moon, and now she wants to ask you if you ever were there, and can show her the way, for she wants so much to find him again."

"Yes, I know where it is," said the north ninja, "a single time I took a peep at that castle, but afterward I was so tired that I couldn't walk for many days. But if you really wish to go there, and aren't afraid to come along with me, I'll take you on my back and see if I can take you there."

"Please! With all my heart, I want to get there if it is at all possible. And I won't be afraid, I promise."

"Very well, then," said the north ninja, "but you must sleep here tonight, for we must have the whole day before us, if we're to get there at all."

Early next morning the north ninja woke her, and stretched her muscles, and inhaled deeply, and made herself so stout and big that she was gruesome to look at. Off they went high up through the air, as if they would not stop until they reached the end of the world.

Here on earth there was a terrible storm; acres of forest and many houses were blown down, and when it swept over the sea, ships wrecked by the hundred.

They tore on and on – no one can believe how far they went – and all the while they still went over the sea, and the north ninja got more and more weary, and so out of breath she could barely think, and her legs drooped and drooped, until at last she sunk so low that the tops of the waves splashed over her heels.

"Are you afraid?" asked the north ninja.

"No" she was going to see her prince at any cost.

They weren't very far from land by now, and the north ninja had enough strength left that she managed to throw Sakura up on the shore under the windows of the castle which lay east of the sun and west of the moon. But then Tsunade was so weak and worn out, that she had to stay there and rest many days before she could go home again.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" the girl had tears of joy in her eyes. She would finally be able to see her beloved prince! The north ninja was glad she could help the girl – and the prince, too.

The next morning Sakura sat down under the castle window, and began to play with the golden kunai. The first person she saw was the obnoxious-voiced princess who was to have the prince.

"Good morning, girl." Her voice was really obnoxious. "My name is Tenten. What's yours?" (A/N: I have nothing against Tenten, but I really don't like the NejiTen pairing.)

"It's Sakura, your highness." She raised her head, for the princess was still inside the castle.

"What do you want for your golden kunai, you girl?" said the obnoxious-voiced one, as she opened the window.

"It's not for sale, for gold or money" she said bravely.

"If it's not for sale for gold or money, what is it that you will sell it for? You may name your own price" said the princess. Then Sakura had a great idea.

"Well, you can have it, if I may get to the prince, who lives here, and be with him tonight" she answered boldly.

"So you want to see Neji? Yes, that could be done." So the princess took the golden kunai; but when the girl came up to the prince's bedroom in that night, he was fast asleep. She called him and shook him, and cried and grieved, but she could not wake him up. The next morning, as soon as day broke, princess Tenten came and drove her out.

That day Sakura sat down under the castle windows and began to play with her golden shuriken, and the same thing happened. The princess asked what she wanted for it. She said it wasn't for sale for gold or money, but if she could have permission to go to Neji and be with him that night, the princess could have it. But when she went to his room she found him fast asleep again, and however much she called, and shook, and cried, and prayed, she couldn't get life into him. As soon as the first gray peep of day came, the princess with an obnoxious voice came, and chased her out again.

Just like she did the day before, the girl with long pink locks sat down outside under the castle window and began to play with her golden senbon set, and princess Tenten wanted to have it as well. She opened the window and asked what she wanted for it. The girl said, as she had said twice before, that it wasn't for sale for gold or money, but if she could go to the prince who was there, and be alone with him that night she could have it.

Yes, she would be welcome to do that. But now you must know that there were some Konoha-nins who had been taken there by the prince's stepfather, and while they were sitting in their room, which was next to the prince's, they had heard how a woman had been in there, crying, praying, and calling to him for two nights in a row, and they told this to the prince.

"Tenten did what?" Neji should have known better. The princess was an Oto-nin behind her beautiful face, and she would do anything to have him.

That evening, when the princess came with a sleeping potion, Neji pretended to drink it, but threw it over his shoulder, for he could guess it was a sleeping potion. So, when Sakura came in, she found the prince wide awake.

"So you found me!" he said, holding her tightly. "How did you do that?"

She told him the whole story of how she had come there. How she met three old woman, and the four ninjas, and how the powerful north ninja brought her there.

"Ah," said the prince, "you've come in the very nick of time, for tomorrow is to be our wedding day. But now I won't have the obnoxious-voice, and you are the only woman in the world who can set me free. I'll say that I want to see what my wife is fit for, and beg her to wash the shirt which has the three spots of tallow on it. She'll agree, for she doesn't know that you are the one who put them there. Only you, and not such a pack of Oto-nins, can wash them out again. I'll say that I will marry only the woman who can wash them out, and ask you to try it."

So there was great joy and love between them all the night. But next day, when the wedding was planned, Neji said he had an idea.

"First of all, I'd like to see what my bride is fit for."

"Yes!" said the stepfather, with all his heart.

"Well," the prince went on, "I've got a fine shirt which I'd like to use during my wedding, but somehow it got three spots of tallow on it, which I must have washed out. I have sworn to marry only the woman who is able to do that. If she can't, then she's not worth marrying me."

Well, that was no big thing, the stepfather said, so they agreed, and the one with an obnoxious voice began to wash away as hard as she could, but the more she rubbed and scrubbed, the bigger the spots grew.

"Ah!" said the old Oto-nin man, her father, "you can't wash. Let me try."

But he had hardly touched the shirt, before it got far worse than before, and with all his rubbing, and wringing, and scrubbing, the spots grew bigger and blacker, and the shirt got ever darker and uglier.

Then all the other people from the castle, all Oto-nins behind normal human faces, began to wash, but the longer it lasted, the blacker and uglier the shirt grew, until at last it was as black all over as if it been up the chimney.

"Ah!" said the prince, "none of you is worth a straw; you can't wash. I'm aware that outside sits a beggar girl. I'll bet she knows how to wash better than the whole lot of you. Come in, girl!" he shouted.

She came in, doing her best to hide the smile that insisted in adorning her lips.

"Can you wash this shirt clean, girl?" he asked, not showing that they planned all this before.

"I don't know," she said, "but I think I can."

And almost before she had taken it and dipped it into the water, it was as white as driven snow and whiter still.

"Yes, you are the girl for me" said the prince.

At that the old Oto-nin man, his stepfather and Tenten's father, flew into such a rage, he exploded on the spot, and the princess with an obnoxious voice after him, and the whole pack of Oto-nins after her – at least no one never heard a word about them since.

As for the prince and princess, they set free all the poor Konoha-nins who had been captured and shut up there; and they took with them all the silver and gold, and flew away as far as they could from the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon.

ooo

The man stopped the story; the three kids were sleeping. In the silence, he heard soft steps coming in his direction.

"They never got to hear the end of it, ne?" and old woman said to her life-long husband.

"I guess this story is too long for them" he replied.

"I like it" she sat beside him. "But why did you have to be the prince? And I'm nothing like a peasant girl."

"Because it was me who turned our life story into a fairytale" he said while taking his wife's hand on his. "But I made you the heroine, didn't I?"

She laughed lightly. "Then we're even. By the way, the kids are late this time…"

"Don't worry, Sakura, our kids are top ninjas. After all, they were raised by no one other than the Hyuuga prodigy and the Godaime's apprentice…"

"Hyuuga prodigy, eh? I thought you didn't like to be called that, Neji. Besides, our children surpassed us, so they are the current Hyuuga prodigies."

He nodded. "Let's get these little ones to their beds. Help me?" Sakura took their granddaughter in her arms, while Neji took their two grandsons. They tucked the children in and left the bedroom.

"We were so lucky, right?" he looked at her tenderly and she smiled. After all those years together, they still loved each other deeply. Their life had not been a fairytale, and that's what made it so wonderful. Because it was real.


End file.
